


Untethered.

by halelujah



Series: Marvel Discourse. [6]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Female Friendship, Friday is petty, Gen, I’ll take him on with my bare hands, Male-Female Friendship, Not Steve Friendly, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, not team Cap friendly, thanos can fight me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-22 19:40:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17668838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halelujah/pseuds/halelujah
Summary: “He kidnapped you.” Tony states.Nebula shrugs and glances at him. “Whatever kinship I felt for my real parents and home planet, is long gone. It’s been battered out of me. Now I just feel pity.”





	Untethered.

**Author's Note:**

> (DID YA’LL SEE MY BABES TOGETHER IN THE TRAILER?? IT WAS ONLY FOR 3.4 SECONDS BUT I SWEAR I TASTED NIRVANA!)
> 
> Okay my loves, this fic has a few background scenes that connect with scenes in previous fics so it’s important to have read those first. Hopefully I’ve done this correctly and it makes sense and flows easily. Also, the salt is minimal, almost nonexistent, here. I’m sorry, all the characters ignored my protests and boycotted. 
> 
> Enjoy, babies and stay beautiful!

When her gaze connects with Thanos’, when Nebula sees the slow smirk that pulls at his mouth, her body freezes. 

She’s not entirely sure if it’s because of her fear of what will happen when he gets her in his clutches again, or her anger for murdering Gamora, either way, Nebula’s entire body locks, refuses to budge, as she silently yells at herself to make a move. 

Thanos advances towards her, the smirk still in place, and for a horrible moment, Nebula just accepts her fate, accepts she’s going to die but not before Thanos has his fun first, and watches on helplessly. 

Until she hears the whirs of familiar repulsors and then instead of staring into Thanos’ victorious gaze, stares at the broad shoulders of a Suit crouched before her, the helmet retracted. 

“You will not touch her!” Tony snarls, one palm of the Suit facing Thanos while the other transforms into a sword. 

“Will it be another round then, Stark?” Her father asks, pausing his advancement with a deep chuckle. “You remember what happened last time you went against me? It will only take a few moments before my daughter feels my wrath again.”

“A few moments is all I need.” Tony grits out, the repulsor humming louder.

Nebula sees Rhodes in the sky for only a second and then Tony’s shooting once, a distraction shot, before he’s spinning and picking Nebula up, and launching them into the air. 

Nebula glances down in time to see Rhodes has brought a half destroyed building down on Thanos, before darting off after them. 

At each of Tony’s shoulders, three missiles are fired just as Thanos re-emerges and right before their eyes, the Tyrant opens a portal and disappears from sight. 

Before he had, he had sent Nebula a chilling smile. Her hands shake at the promise that lay beneath it. 

They watch as the missiles hit nothing but rubble after the portal closes. She’s not going to pretend she’s not disappointed. 

All around the destroyed city, her father’s warriors scurry off to their ships, taking with them their wounded, but leaving behind their dead without so much a glance. 

Tony lands softly and places Nebula on her feet. The Suit peels away from his body and then gentle hands are cupping her shoulders. 

“You okay? You’re not hurt, are you?” He asks, eyes running over her body.

“I froze —“ she mutters, shaking her head. “I couldn’t move —“

“Nebula,” Tony interrupts, voice soft, even as his grip on her shoulders tighten marginally. “Are you hurt?”

She glances down at her right wrist, where her skin has been ripped open down to the wires. She doesn’t know when she got the injury, but it throbs. 

(It’s probably between the moment where she fought against those she once considered her siblings, and the moment where she tried to kill their father with Godslayer. Only to be thwarted away like a lowly bug, her forearm taking the brunt of her fall.) 

Tony follows her gaze and let’s out a hiss, before the Suit is reappearing. 

“Rhodey, gotta go.” The modulated voice of the Suit calls, as metal arms pick her up again. “Gotta patch Nebula up!”

She hears Rhodes’ Suit fire up as well, and just underneath that, hears Rogers furiously call out, “Tony! We need to talk about who your ally is!”

~

“Good afternoon, Councilwoman Alley,” Tony greets, when the hologram of her small frame pops up in front of him. “I wish this conversation was going to be a better one.”

“I do too, Mr. Stark, I do too.” Councilwoman Alley nods, her small smile tense as it’s sad. “I’m afraid the Council isn’t happy with what’s just transpired, Mr. Stark. The number of people dead, missing and or injured, is already in the high hundreds, and this is only the first skirmish. Not to mention it’s only been an hour. This needs to be better.”

Tony feels a prickle of anger skim against his spine.

He tries not to let said anger show at the Councilwoman, actually knows Delilah Alley quite well outside of political and offical ties,( she made one hell of a cheesecake that could make people speak in tongues, it’s that good) but right now, he’s not feeling very welcoming towards her. 

“No disrespect, ma’am, but we’re fighting against something that’s completely foreign to us,” Rhodey steps in, subtly brushing his hand against Tony’s lower back, before stepping up beside him and standing in parade rest. “Weapon, race or even species wise. We have no idea what we’re up against here. We’re fighting blind.”

“We’re also fighting with half our numbers.” Tony adds on, clenching his fists. 

His chest aches at the thought of Peter and May. Of Vision. 

At the thought that Pepper, Happy and Rhodey can’t get in touch with all of their family members. 

Councilwoman Alley sighs, and despite looking young for her fifty-three years of age any day of the week, the stress has suddenly aged her since he last spoke to her. 

“I know. _Majority_ of the Council knows. Some are just making noise because they don’t believe we’re essentially fighting a losing battle.” She says, rubbing a hand over tired, honey coloured eyes. 

Tony knows which member she means. Councilman Chadwick would be the one to lead the divide. 

He’s always been an asshole that liked to throw his weight around, despite not having a lot in the first place. 

Rhodey side eyes him while Councilwoman Alley’s gaze is covered, and lifts an eyebrow in question. 

Tony nods in reply, knowing his best friend is guessing Chadwick as well. 

He also knows now, that this meeting is for face value more than anything. The majority of the Accords Council knows that this isn’t going to be easy. To soothe the unrest, shut the other half of the Council up more like, an impromptu meeting was decided on. 

“We’re doing our best, ma’am,” Tony swears, “And if some of the Council members don’t like how that looks, they’re more than welcome to join us, suit up and fight.”

Alley gives him an amused smile, despite the severe situation. “You know that won’t be the case. Some of the members have never seen war outside of TV screens and movies.”

A slight dig at Chadwick. Another reason to like one Delilah Alley. 

“Unlike yourself,” Rhodey says, and there’s a teasing note to his voice. 

The medals pinned to Alley’s chest shine as she grins. 

“I apologise for interrupting, Boss, Councilwoman Alley and Colonel Rhodes,” FRIDAY cuts in just then, “but we have a _NGC 1535_ emergency that needs your attention.”

Tony has a moment of confusion wash over him, before it connects. 

_Nebula._

“Oh, my apologies, Councilwoman, but I’ve really gotta take care of that.” Tony explains, looking contrite. 

“Sounds important,” Alley comments, but nods her assent. “Go, I’ll continue to speak with Colonel Rhodes and he can brief you later.”

Tony’s out of his Workshop and in the elevator before she finishes. 

~

Tony doesn’t know if he feels disappointed or relieved when Rogers backs down almost immediately.

Whether that’s from Nebula’s sword and gleeful promise of a fight, FRIDAY’s threat of retribution, or the fact Tony had two repulsors pointed right at Rogers’ chest, he doesn’t know that either. 

But then again, for all Tony knew, it could have been Natasha’s “Save the fight for Thanos, Steve. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Tony’s had his fair share of stupid moments, he’ll be the first to admit, but the amused snort he had let out at that, had put him on the receiving end of some major and undeserving glares. 

The Rogues end up slinking away to their corner of the Tower, something everyone had been up in arms about, when they had found out. 

They, especially Pepper, had understood in the end, that if they didn’t want the Rogues in their personal space for an indefinite time, a space had to be provided for them. 

That being said, that doesn’t mean Tony had to like it, because he sure as shit didn’t. 

He didn’t want the so called team and family Steve had sprouted on about, anywhere near his person, or those that he cared for. 

Especially when they thought he owed them something; whether it be his money, his time, his tech, or his sincerest apologies. 

Because they were all fresh out of fucking luck with that. 

It’s taken Tony too many times of touching the proverbial hot stove, for him to realise that family, a _true_ one, doesn’t tear you down. Doesn’t use you for personal gain or knowingly stand by and watch when someone else does. 

Like Tony said, he’s had his fair share of stupid moments, repeat offended, Rhodey would tease, but this was one moment he wasn’t going to repeat ever again. 

~

Pepper is walking towards Tony’s Workshop with Happy beside her, eager to get Tony, James and Nebula in her sights again after the latest fight, when she spots someone standing at the locked entrance. 

“You shouldn’t be down here.” She says, eyebrows arched. 

Steve Rogers turns around and faces her with an apologetic look. 

Pepper doesn’t believe it for a second. 

“Hey, Pepper. Happy. ” He greets, stepping away from the door and closer to her. 

He stops short when Happy moves slightly in front of her. 

“It’s Miss Potts, to you.” Happy informs, chin held up defiantly. 

“Ah, it’s nice to see you,” Rogers says, throwing a quick frown in Happy’s direction. “Wish it was under better circumstances.”

She ignores that because she seriously doubts that. “I’ll say this again, you’re not supposed to be down here. It’s weird, because you shouldn’t have been able to even get on this floor.”

It’s Pepper’s turn to get frowned at. 

“I’ve always had access to Tony’s Workshop. It’s why I’m having trouble getting in _now_ , that’s weird.”

“That’s because you’re not allowed in.” Pepper says, slowly. As if she was talking to a child. “No passkey, no entrance.”

“But I’ve always had access.” He repeats. 

Pepper is seconds away from using her newly honed skills and her heels. 

“That’s before you smashed your precious Shield into my fiancé’s chest.” She tells him sweetly. “Now, please remove yourself from this floor, before I have you removed. Forcibly.”

For a second, Steve seems to pale, before a bloom of colour floods his face. 

“That’s what I wanna talk to Tony about.” He explains, shoulders twitching. “I need my Shield.”

Happy rears back as if Rogers had slapped him in the face, and Pepper is actually stunned herself. 

No apology. Not even an excuse. Just another demand. 

She glares. “Remove yourself from this level,” She states, quietly, moving out from behind Happy’s back to step into Steve’s space, “Or I’ll do it myself.”

“I suggest you listen to her,” Happy says, fists balled up by his sides. “Because I’d gladly hold onto Miss Potts’ brief case.”

Rogers seems to understand, _for once_ , when he’s beat because he glances between her and Happy and nods, before inching his way passed. 

Pepper doesn’t relax until she hears the doors close and the hum of the elevator fades away. 

The nerve, she can’t help but think, still feeling her anger course through her veins. 

That still didn’t answer her question of how Rogers got to this level in the first place though. 

“FRIDAY?” Pepper asks, calmly. 

There’s a delayed response, then, “Yes, Miss Potts?”

“Did Romanoff hack your systems or did you let him down here on purpose?”

There’s another guilty silence before FRIDAY admits, “I found it amusing to deny his request over and over. I was waiting to see if he’d pass out from lack of air, he was that persistent.”

Happy snorts loudly and Pepper throws him a glare, but she knows it’s halfhearted at best, and downright fond at worst, because she’s grinning herself. 

“Stop,” She chides, grin still in place. “James has a hard time as it is, wrangling her and Nebula in, she doesn’t need any more encouragement.”

Happy holds his hands up, placating, as he turns to walk towards the entranceway to the Workshop.

He enters his code and shrugs. “I didn’t say anything.”

Pepper rolls her eyes and follows after him. “Your lack of reprimand is more than enough.”

As the door opens, Happy stands to the side to let her through. 

She passes and he cheekily grins, “Didn’t hear you say anything either, boss. Just saying.”

Pepper pokes him in the side for being a little shit. 

~

“He’s not really my father.” Nebula murmurs, wrapped up in one of Pepper’s knitted blankets on the couch in the Workshop. “I don’t remember my true father and mother or my home planet, before Thanos came.”

She looks small buried in the soft material, Pepper long gone now from snuggling with the other woman. 

Happy’s famous hot cocoa had been consumed, the only evidence being the empty mugs spread around the ‘Shop. 

“He kidnapped you.” Tony states, turning away from the specs for Nebula’s new suit, to face her. No way was he going to let her get caught like she did before. Not if he could help it. 

“I was young, hadn’t even started my classes yet.” She’s frowning, like she’s trying to remember. “Thanos reigned down from the skies with fire and black smoke, and then it was over. Everything. The screams, the fighting, the blood spilling. It was just over. I was put on his warship and I never went back.”

“I can’t imagine.” Tony says, not able to think of anything else to say. 

Nebula shrugs and glances at him. “Whatever kinship I felt for my real parents and home planet, is long gone. It’s been battered out of me. Now I just feel pity.”

Tony stares for a moment. “Pity because you didn’t die along side your family, or pity because you outlived them under Thanos’ hand?”

Nebula turns her gaze away. In the quiet, she whispers, “Both.”

~

Tony is more than surprised when the person Nebula called Rocket, is actually a talking raccoon. 

One that Thor happily calls ‘Bunny’, something Tony doesn’t want to know about, but desperately does. 

After getting a thorough, near bone crushing hug from the God, and a promise of an explanation of how he lost an eye, his hammer and gained an axe and weird looking helmet, Tony turns to greet their new guest. 

Tony elbows Rhodey, who’s still gaping a little too noticeably, and steps forward to introduce himself. 

“So, you’re the one Shuri says could give her a run for her money.” Rocket says, hefting a gun twice the size of him, over his shoulder. He smirks, which unnerves Tony a little to see on what he’d classify an animal here on Earth. “This is gonna be fun.”

“Shuri loves to downplay her intelligence. Once we save Earth, this planet is hers for the taking.” Tony grins. “She did mention that you like to build tech. Wanna see where I like to play?”

Rocket laughs. “Let’s get this party started then.”

~

Nebula stands at the entranceway, and silently watches Rocket. 

She won’t admit it to anyone, not even Tony, that she’s been avoiding him for the few days he’s been in the Tower, glad that he’s been too occupied with being down in Tony’s ‘Shop. For this very reason. 

“It would be better if it came from someone else.” Nebula murmurs, fidgeting. 

From the corner of her eye, she sees Pepper shake her head. 

“It’d be best from someone familiar, not a stranger.” She replies, reaching out and wrapping her fingers around Nebula’s. 

“I didn’t care for them.” Nebula protests, voice a harsh whisper. “Besides Gamora, I hardly _knew_ them.”

She ignores the way her own fingers clench around Pepper’s desperately. She’s never felt so out of depth like this before.

“But you knew _of_ them, and that’s more comfort than any of us could ever offer him.” Pepper soothes. “You can do this, Nebula.”

Pepper tightens her grip once before letting go. She smiles and turns to walk away, her heels clicking gently until she’s out of sight. 

Nebula sighs and glances back at Rocket. She feels a sudden squeeze of panic in her chest, because she has to tell Rocket that out of his crew, he’s the sole survivor of Thanos’ wrath. 

“I’m right here, Miss Nebula,” FRIDAY says, quietly, just for Nebula’s ears. “Boss and Colonel Rhodes are currently greeting Miss Potts in the kitchen, waiting for your return. Happy is even there, cooking for your marathon of _Downtown Abbey_ tonight. The ‘Bots are thinking of a new game to play with you. We’re all here.”

Nebula doesn’t know how FRIDAY does that. Knows what or when to say something that can bring comfort. She guesses it’s a reflection of FRIDAY’s creator, feels a little touched at the thought. 

“Thank you,” Nebula murmurs, before standing up straight. To herself, she says, _repeats_ , “He deserves to know. He deserves to know.”

Rocket glances up from his guns when she stands beside him, and blinks at her. 

“What are you doing here?” He asks, looking confused. “Last time I saw you, was after Yondu —“

His voice shakes before he stops. 

After clearing his throat, he asks again, “What are you doing here?”

She takes a moment to steel herself, to take a steadying breathe in. 

“After I left, I went after Thanos,” she starts, before slipping into the chair opposite Rocket. “Ended up getting caught by him instead and I was — punished.”

Rocket stays silent, just nods his head for her to continue. 

“I don’t know how long he had me locked in that room, but the next time he was there, Gamora was with him.”

At this, Rocket swings his gaze from the scattered gun parts to face her. 

“You left us a year and a half ago.” Rocket muses. “He had you that long?”

Having a time frame of how long Nebula was in that room, doesn’t make her feel any better about it. She had thought maybe if she had known, it would be less taxing on her mind. Less horrifying. 

It honestly isn’t. 

“What did he do?” Rocket asks, when she doesn’t answer his first question. 

“Used me to get Gamora talking. He wanted to know where the Soul Stone was.”

“And she told him.”

Nebula nods before she hesitates. 

“Gamora stopped him from hurting me anymore.” She admits, twisting her fingers together. She pulls them off the table, so Rocket can’t see how they shake. “Maybe it wasn’t even for me, maybe it was so she didn’t have to hear me scream, but — she stopped him. She saved me.” 

She sometimes dreams she’s still hooked up to that machine, being pulled apart inch by painful inch. She dreams that no one stops Thanos. That no one hears her cries for help, her screams for it to all stop. 

“Is this leadin’ up to somethin’?” Rocket asks, folding his arms. “Because I’m feelin’ like there’s somethin’ else.”

Nebula takes one more steadying breathe in. “Thanos killed Gamora first. And Peter, Drax — the rest of your crew, followed on Titan. You’re all that’s left.” 

There’s a deafening silence that follows and Nebula thinks, with a wince, that she was definitely not the right person for this. 

Rocket seems to think so too, if his angry growl is anything to go by. 

“Yeah, why should I fricken care for, huh?” Rocket suddenly snaps, aggressively slamming his fists on the metal tabletop. “The idiots probably deserved —“

Nebula brings her fist down against the table too, hard. “ _Do not_ finish that sentence, if you wish to keep your head.”

It’s silent between them again, where Rocket keeps his gaze down and Nebula glares. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Rocket grumbles under his breathe. He begins to dismantle one of the larger guns. “Can you get lost? I’ve got shit to do.”

Nebula removes her hand from the dent in the table and frowns. 

Tony wouldn’t be mad at her for displaying such anger, but it still annoyed her that she’d lost control. 

Taking a deep breathe in, she watches as Rocket continues to disassemble his gun. 

She watches as his small frame seems even smaller, how his grip on the metal pieces shake. As tears begin to slide down from his eyes. 

“I didn’t know the rest of your crew like you,” Nebula says, taking a moment to swallow harshly. “But if Gamora meant to me the same amount, as she and the rest of your crew did to you, then I understand, Rocket. It _hurts_ and no matter how I try, I _cannot_ get rid of the pain.”

Rocket stops in what he’s doing for a long moment and then slumps. 

“I shoulda been there.” Rocket mutters, glancing up at her and then away. “Maybe the idiots woulda had a chance. Maybe Groot would still be —“

“There’s no time for maybes now, Rocket.” Nebula says, firmly. “There’s only time for us to prepare. You know Thanos won’t stop.”

Rocket snorts. “Sure, another suicide mission. What do I got left to lose?”

It’s said cheerfully, but Nebula knows it’s more than forced. 

She thinks about Tony’s words the first time they spoke on the Milano, after she asked him what was going to happen when they arrived to Terra. 

_We find who’s left able to fight, regroup, find Thanos and we avenge everyone we lost._

His words have become a mantra of sorts, mostly the last part, to her. 

She hadn’t been lying when she told Tony that she doesn’t remember her parents or home planet. But there are moments, at the dead of night where she’d be lying in bed, she swore she could hear the tinkling laughter of her mother, the low cadence of her father’s voice singing a lullaby. 

At those moments, she could almost see a starry night with three moons out of an unfamiliar window, taste a sweet berry in her mouth or smell the fragrance of a flower.

Nebula just couldn’t hold onto the memory, and as much as she tried, it always slipped through her fingers. 

But that had been all Nebula knew, all she kept close to her chest, until Gamora arrived on the warship. 

Nebula grew up with a sister that wasn’t really hers, but had been the only real thing she had left that wasn’t faded memories, even when they were at dangerous odds with one another. 

And Thanos had taken Gamora away from her, just like everything else in her life. 

Her father should know that there was no feat in killing half the universe, without knowing the wrath of those that were cruelly left behind to remember them. He shouldn’t get the luxury to walk away from that and think he’s won. 

“The people we care about, deserve to rest in peace. They can’t do that if Thanos still breathes.” Nebula murmurs. “Join us and exact your revenge for your crew. For Groot. For my sister.”

Rocket seems to think about this, before he grins.

“Fine, I’m in. But first, I wanna know if I can have whatever’s in Tony’s chest. Maybe even the other guy’s leg braces.”

Despite knowing he’s joking, Nebula cuts him a warning glare. “If you attempt to remove Tony’s arc reactor or take Rhodes’ prosthetics —“

“Relax, it’s my thing to ask.” Rocket waves her threat away. He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just stares at her. “You like them, don’t you? The Terrans?”

Nebula shrugs, but suddenly feels a slightly familiar warmth bloom in her chest. 

“Tony is my friend.” She replies, then thinks of Pepper, Rhodes, Happy, FRIDAY and the ‘Bots. “They’re all my friends. I’ve never had any of those before. It’s — nice.”

“Yeah?” Rocket shrugs. “Well, it’s your lucky day, ‘cause I guess you got me too.”

~

When it came to silence, Tony hated it. He hated being in the moment, so used to his brain firing off on all cylinders, that he couldn’t even sit still, let alone keep his mouth shut. 

Pepper has come to love his lack of ability of silence and his jittery nerves. 

So it certainly shocks Tony when he realises that he doesn’t need to babble when he sits with Nebula, or tap his fingers against the arc reactor in a staccato beat. 

He can sit there and just be.

This time round though, there is one thing that’s been playing on Tony’s mind. 

“Why does he call you his daughter then?” He asks. “Did he do that with Gamora as well?” 

He was unsurprised that Nebula was up as well, haunting the dark corridors with only FRIDAY’s trail of floor lights for assistance. 

She had left him in the Workshop earlier, with the idea of sleep in mind. It clearly didn’t go over so well. 

Nightmares plagued them both. He isn’t all that surprised about that either. He had shared the sleeping quarters with Nebula on the Milano. They heard each other’s muffled screams and whimpers of pain from attacks that have long since passed. 

“With all of those he called children.” She confirms, staring down at her cup filled with hot chocolate. 

Tony watches her stare at the marshmallow floating around in the liquid. 

“Thanos thinks he’s a god and having multiple children of different races and different ages, gives him proof, the satisfaction of that.” She finishes. 

“I know a little about being egotistical, but that’s a whole new level.” Tony snorts derisively. “Sure, I call the Bots and FRIDAY my children —“

“You created them.” Nebula interrupts, looking offended on Tony’s behalf. “By definition, they’re your children. Thanos may not have been my real father, but he did create the thing I am _now_. It’s why I — struggle.”

Tony had noticed, Pepper and Rhodey both, that Nebula changed the moniker she used for Thanos. Some days it was ‘tyrant’, others it was ‘Thanos.’ Majority of the time it was ‘my father.’ 

Tony had only ever called his father Howard in his own head or to someone who had known what he was really like. To those that had only seen the image Howard wanted to see, he had called him his father, his old man. 

He knew who Howard was to him though, knows that how the man treated Tony throughout his childhood and teens, was wrong. There weren’t any lines that were blurred, like how it was with Nebula. 

“Regardless of who Thanos is to you, regardless if he really was your father, his sins aren’t yours.” Tony says. 

(And if he says those exact words to himself in the mirror, when the call for the scotch is too strong, well, that was Tony’s cross to bare.)

Despite the brave face Nebula had thrown in Rogers’ demand for remorse from Nebula, Tony knows it did hit a nerve, tiny as it may be. 

She nods but it looks like she doesn’t believe him. He doesn’t blame her for it. Tony can’t even imagine what she went through, what she had to do, to survive under Thanos’ hand. 

The same could be said for a brainwashed prisoner of war. 

Tony knows now that he had reacted badly back in that bunker. He also knows believing that Howard was the cause of his mother’s and his own death, had been a fact he’d buried along side his parents all those years ago. 

To have that all change in the course of a three minute video? With the person that _actually_ did the killing and not the presumed whiskey in Howard’s system? 

It’s beyond traumatic. 

But he dares anyone to take his place in that exact moment, and try to react differently. 

Swallowing, Tony pushes the thought of Barnes out of his head. He couldn’t help Barnes now that he’s a part of the population that has disappeared, but there was someone here he could help. 

“If I asked, would you stay here on Earth?” Tony asks. 

Nebula freezes. 

“I mean — Rhodey and Pepper have made comments that if you’d like to stay, you’re more than welcome to.” He goes on. “But I didn’t want them to spook you, if they asked you directly.”

“You would let me stay?” She asks, glancing up at him. 

Tony nods. “I’d like it if you did, yes. The Bots, FRIDAY, Pepper, Happy and Rhodey too. None of this letting you stay bullshit though. You’ve more than earned a spot here and it’s yours if you want it.”

“I don’t — I don’t really have no place to go.” Nebula murmurs, looking down. “I suppose I was going to join my sister’s stupid little group - The Guardians of The Galaxy. But now that it’s only Rocket, I’m not so sure.”

“Well, whatever you decide, we’ve got your back.” Tony tells her. “You’d just have to promise that if you do leave, you’d come back to visit whenever you can. And bring some Yaro root with you. I liked that.”

Nebula grins softly, her gaze a little distant, like she’s lost in a memory. “I’ll make sure they’re ripe for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Any negative comments will be deleted. Remember tags are the way of AO3 life, use its guidelines to lead the way.


End file.
